Mental Health Disparities Lab

Researcher - Dr. Lucas Torres


The Research

For Undergraduate Students

The Mental Health Disparities Lab provides undergraduate psychology majors with a great opportunity to make use of the skills learned in Statistics (PSYC 2001) and Research Methods (PSYC 2050) courses. Although activities vary from semester to semester, research assistants will gain experience in many areas from entering and interpreting data in SPSS to going out in the community and recruiting participants. Due to our concentration on mental health in the Latino population of Milwaukee, researchers are encouraged to use any experience they have with the Spanish language; however knowing Spanish is not a requirement. Being a research assistant in this lab is a weekly commitment, and interested students should be able to continue to work towards this study for at least one academic year.

Current Graduate Research Assistants

Jaclyn Pachicano

Jaclyn is a fifth-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Marquette University. She received her M.S. in Psychology at Marquette University and her B.A. in Psychology at Northwestern University. Her research interests primarily focus on examining intersectional experiences and discrimination in queer Latinx people and how these experiences relate to suicide risk. Through the Mental Health Disparities Lab, Jaclyn has also researched COVID-related mental health disparities in Latinx people, psychological outcomes related to experiences of discrimination, and the protective role of community involvement in depression. In addition to research, Jaclyn teaches an undergraduate Abnormal Psychology course and works on the Mobile Crisis Team through Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division. In both her research and her clinical work, Jaclyn hopes to further enrich and fortify the literature on marginalized groups to improve mental health access and treatment for underserved populations.

Kaylen Vine

Kaylen VineKaylen Vine is a fourth-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Marquette University. She received her M.S. in Psychology at Marquette University and her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Washington. She currently works with Dr. Torres in the Mental Health Disparities Lab conducting research on the psychological well-being of racial and ethnic minorities pre- and mid-COVID. Additionally, she is a clinical research coordinator at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and Froedtert Hospital. At MCW, Kaylen works with the Milwaukee Trauma Outcomes Project (MTOP), a team of experts in research and direct clinical care pertaining to trauma. Her research interests broadly span Black racial/ethnic identity development, anti-Blackness and discrimination, intersectionality, multiculturalism, racial trauma, and culturally cognizant therapeutic approaches. Kaylen intends to dedicate her career to closing gaps in mental health disparities and increasing mental health resources available to racial and ethnic minorities.

Veronica Heredia

Veronica HerediaVeronica is a third-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Marquette University. She received her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Kansas. Her research interests lie in Latinx behavioral health- specifically, trauma, psychological ramifications of police harassment, and the protective capabilities of family support. Through her work in the Mental Health Disparities lab, she has also examined how food insecurity, gender, and immigration stress contribute to Latinx mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, Latinx views on racial/ethnic discrimination, and the impact of emotion regulation and social support for Latinxs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to research, Veronica works as a student clinician at the Next Step Clinic. Veronica seeks to contribute to research examining racism-induced psychological decrements, with the goal of informing cultural adaptations of evidence-based treatments for Latinx populations.

 


Alumni

Alumni

  • Mark Driscoll
  • Kelly Moore
  • Danielle DeAngelis
  • Vanessa Ayala
  • Jenna Popovich
  • Alexandra Reveles
  • Joelle Taknint
  • Frances Alfonzo
  • Claire Bird
  • America Davila
  • Celeste Hernandez
  • Karina Sanchez
  • Jessica Sandoval
  • Gabriela Stablein
  • Vidhi Thakkar